While ratings for Colbert's show have declined over the last decade, the program has consistently achieved the highest views of any show in the 11:35 p.m. hour, outdrawing ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" and NBC's "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," according to Nielsen.

Speaking with his former executive producer, Barbara Gaines, in a YouTube video Friday, Letterman called the axing of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert “pure cowardice” and said he doesn’t believe the official line from CBS that the decision was purely about economics (the show has reportedly become a money-loser for the network).